§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what was the projected output of the wind farm schemes funded through the fossil fuel levy for each year from 1991 to 1995; and what has been the actual output; [12117]
(2) what has the cost been of the wind farm programme funded through the fossil fuel levy; and what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of financial support for wind farms. [12119]
§ Mr. Page[holding answer 22 January 1997]: Figures from the Office of Electricity Regulation put the total cost to the fossil fuel levy of supporting all the renewable energy projects, from the beginning of the programme in 1990 up to March 1996, at £309 million. Of this, I estimate that about a quarter has been for wind farms.
The total annual turnover of the UK electricity supply industry is about £15 billion and the Government believe that, if their market enablement strategy using the non-fossil fuel obligation succeeds, wind energy could eventually capture 10 per cent. of this market. The reductions in the amounts paid for wind energy under successive NFFO rounds suggest that this strategy is indeed working.
The Government do not make output projections for wind farms, but I understand that, on the whole, wind farm projects are meeting the expectations of their owners. The actual outputs, in gigawatt hours, as reported by the Non-fossil Purchasing Agency, were as follows:
1991: 2 1992: 26 1993: 213 1994: 337 1995: 340.